I agree. And I'd like to see COTS software supplied with a statement of complexity, against some standardised metric.

But it's a huge change you are asking for: most systems that use any COTS would be ruled out of safety-related applications.

We can't become an engineering profession in one step - but I'd like us to be clearly starting the journey.

Martyn

On 01/07/2013 18:16, Steve Tockey wrote:

Martyn,
My preference would be that things like low cyclomatic complexity be considered basic standards of professional practice, well before one even started talking about a safety case. Software with ridiculous complexities shouldn't even be allowed to start making a safety case in the first place.